Consistantly catching larger fish

[cassidyta]

I am looking at the finals to the local Tourney of Champions. All of the local bass clubs have their top angler participate. The winning weight ended up at just over 30 for the 1 and 1/2 day tourney.
I enjoy my fishing and limiting is not often an issue, but I have only once had the 20 lbs stringer that the leader put up yesterday. I may end up on a 4lbs plus during the day, but the others need to pump iron to reach 2lbs.

What do you all think is the key to consistantly getting the larger fish. I am not talking about just trophy hunting one monster. I know these guys are culling fish throughout the day, but I seldom see them landing a dink. Some of my cathces would make better bait than predator.
What are your thoughts?

[bamabassman]

sorry cass.......i amNOT the one to help ya out here pal. wish i could. really do buddy.

[CMorg]

I think its something to do with studying the basses behiavor pattern , match that to the time of year , and map study to find where they are. Now , I know nothing about all that , Im trying to learn it all myself....

[bamabassman]

me neither cmorg....that is why we are here right pal?

[The Doc]

From personal experience, I usually just back off the spot where I'm catching the dinks about 20 yards, and upsize my bait slightly. An example is this: if I am catching dinks on a shad patterned senko, but not catching a good size, I'll throw a soft swimbait like a Strike King Shadalicious at them a few times and see what happens. If I'm jig fishing, I'll go with a chunkier trailer or a jig with a fuller skirt, but I don't upsize the weight of the jig, I'll stick with whatever weight was catching them. Upsize a little bit at a time and see what happens. Sometimes, if I'm in a school of small bass and they are smashing a worm as soon as it hits the water, I'll add a weight and cast past the school and try to bring the bait under them where the larger bass are hanging out, waiting for one of the small bass to drop food. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't

[MIbasser]

Cass, I think it's time on the water and a lot of it. Guys here can put you on 2 lb fish all day long at St. Clair, but will not let you know where the 5-6 lber's will hang out. I think it just takes time.

I'm in your same boat as all of you guys, I want to know where they are too!!

[chase_cooley5308]

Originally Posted by MIbasser

Cass, I think it's time on the water and a lot of it. Guys here can put you on 2 lb fish all day long at St. Clair, but will not let you know where the 5-6 lber's will hang out. I think it just takes time.

I'm in your same boat as all of you guys, I want to know where they are too!!

same here MI

[Tennessee]

In a 5 fish tourney I will try my best to pop 5 fish the ones I know I can catch like the dink size 12, 14, and 15" fish. Then the ice is broken and I go hunt the big dawgs. I'm not a super tourney fisherman but this has proven to work for me in the past.

I started out hunting bigger fish at the start of tournaments and never did well..As time went by and nothing swimming in my live well made me grow more and more nervous I fished to fast and hard and couldn't slow my self down.

I have seen local tourney's won on 8lbs of fish in the middle of the summer and it never fails there is always some guys that always fish and always complain about not having fish to weight in.

I didn't want to be one of those guys so I took a step back said hey they catching them I can too just gotta change my game. That's when my mind opened up to other baits styles and areas. Even brought me to this site.

I will never know everything about fishing but with you fine folks an myself always fishing and trying new things I'm sure to learn something new most everyday.

Just for the record I had people askign at the weigh-in yesterday what dis yall use. I said Shakey head to a few and they were like ??????what????? over grown jigs. I lol and yup. One guys said wow they only thing I didn't throw and the others just hmmm never used one!!

Later Will

[CCbass]

I will offer this, its time on the water and finding a technique that by nature catches bigger fish. I was known as a one bait guy in all my tournements, never had to compete for my areas. At weigh in when the director asked what I used and how the rest of the club said it before I did. They all new what I did and how I caught them yet never did I get beat on a similar technique, I was beat on other techniques, most said they couldn't find a pattern for what I used.

[supermat]

Of course time on the water, personal confidence, and attention to detail are all important. However, using baits that typically generate larger than average bites is very important. Regardless of where you fish, swimbaits, jigs, and topwaters will produce larger than average fish over the long haul.
To add to that, when I fish in a tournament my goal is 7 baits during the day. I go with as large a bait as I can to still get those 7 bites. The way I figure it, that allows for one missed fish, 5 in the bag, and one cull fish. If you fish for seven bites a day your numbers will go up. If you're catching 10, 20, 40, fish a day, odds are you need to fish bigger to eliminate smaller bites and encourage the larger fish to commit. Without being on the boat and watching what you do that is the best I can offer.

[CCbass]

I agree with the fewer bites to a point, yes catching alot of fish, one to two pounds is nice, but what if you catch alot of fish and they are all quality. Its the same but can make a tournement, instead of 10 to 12 lbs. its 17 to 19 lbs. which can win most one day tournements. The bigger bait idea I'm not so sure about, my technique employed baits from 2.5 inches to 3 inches, never any bigger, still caught quality fish time in and out.

[supermat]

Originally Posted by CCbass

I agree with the fewer bites to a point, yes catching alot of fish, one to two pounds is nice, but what if you catch alot of fish and they are all quality. Its the same but can make a tournement, instead of 10 to 12 lbs. its 17 to 19 lbs. which can win most one day tournements. The bigger bait idea I'm not so sure about, my technique employed baits from 2.5 inches to 3 inches, never any bigger, still caught quality fish time in and out.

Very dependent upon conditions lake to lake. You're fishing central cal and that's a whole different ball game. 17-19 lbs will not put you on a leader board in most Norcal tourneys. But again, "bigger baits" is very relative. To me, I may start throwing a 12" swimbait, a big jig, or a 12-16" worm. To the next guy, that might be the difference between a 1" hair jig and a 3" senko. Its dependent on the particular body of water but I do believe that to catch consistantly bigger bass you need to eliminate a portion of your bites.
Are there exceptions? Of course. But over the long haul, no, I don't think so. This is one of the major keys to success.

[CCbass]

Point said, my run, 1st thru 3rd in 11 tournaments from Feb. thru Nov. on five different lakes. Same technique for the most part lead to that record on all lakes, was it luck, most of the other anglers thought so. Me, no, just a good technique that catches bass on a lake, and at a higher quality.

[dodgeguy]

fish a jig .

[CMorg]

I think good fisherman dont need luck.

[jasonfish320]

For me, it's always challenging to find that kicker fish...here in the Northeast we have a tough season...Bass don't grow as large and most lakes vary dramatically in character from place to place. The only thing that has worked for me is to find 5 fish first regardless of size as long as they are keepers...once I have my 5 I start varying my depths and working deeper waters.

last year I met a guy who won a large regional tourney and he had about 80 waypoints on his gps and would fish each one no longer than 10 mins at a time and move on, he continued this pattern all day and destroyed the leaderboard with 36lbs..7fish limit...I just thought it was interesting to have all those waypoints..I usually will have about 10-20 spots that I will concentrate on

[Bob Smith]

Ccbass and Supermat make some really valid points, infact Tennessee and several others bring up some great concepts too. I wish I could consistently practice what I believe to be the case (hence the fact that even the best fishermen need a little "luck", Cmorg. lol! I certainly don't rate myself in the expert catagory, but I am better than the average Joe). What I believe is that when you are catching smaller fish frequently during a tournament that, more often than not, your bait is passing the larger fish at some point on your retrieve. That could mean several things. You may need to slow down a bit, upsize your offering, or even find that little something different in the area you fishing (structure or cover). Here's what I am guilty of.. I hate to leave biting fish even when I know it's the right thing to do, but if you continue to catch small fish then you are doing something wrong.

[CMorg]

Originally Posted by Bob Smith

Ccbass and Supermat make some really valid points, infact Tennessee and several others bring up some great concepts too. I wish I could consistently practice what I believe to be the case (hence the fact that even the best fishermen need a little "luck", Cmorg. lol! I certainly don't rate myself in the expert catagory, but I am better than the average Joe). What I believe is that when you are catching smaller fish frequently during a tournament that, more often than not, your bait is passing the larger fish at some point on your retrieve. That could mean several things. You may need to slow down a bit, upsize your offering, or even find that little something different in the area you fishing (structure or cover). Here's what I am guilty of.. I hate to leave biting fish even when I know it's the right thing to do, but if you continue to catch small fish then you are doing something wrong.

Bob , I am by no means a good fisherman....I do believe you can learn enough to take luck out of the picture though...

[Bob Smith]

CMorg, LOL! I don't plan to argue with you about that, but I would ask Kevin Van Dam (who I consider to the be the very best tournament angler alive) why he didn't produce at the most recent Classic on the Red River? I thnk his answer would include something like "Luck" in the final analysis. I believe the skill comes in the "why" the fish are where they are, the luck is making the right choice in the many lure variables (the "how" that we talked about the other day). We all have our opinions though, and we are certainly all entitled to them! lol! That's one of things that makes this site so good!

[jasonfish320]

Originally Posted by Bob Smith

CMorg, LOL! I don't plan to argue with you about that, but I would ask Kevin Van Dam (who I consider to the be the very best tournament angler alive) why he didn't produce at the most recent Classic on the Red River? I thnk his answer would include something like "Luck" in the final analysis. I believe the skill comes in the "why" the fish are where they are, the luck is making the right choice in the many lure variables (the "how" that we talked about the other day). We all have our opinions though, and we are certainly all entitled to them! lol! That's one of things that makes this site so good!

I believe KVD hit a rock or other submersed object during his pre-fish that threw him over his windshield onto the front deck and rumor has it that it knocked him unconscious and he hurt his arm pretty bad. Who knows if that had some effect on how he fished...However, I believe fishing definitely has it's stroke of luck...I once caught a 4.8lb smallie right next to the landing as we were getting ready to weigh in....pure luck!

[mont_lunker_hunter]

Many ways to look at luck...some could argue, Jason, that it wasn't luck at all that you caught he smallie...afterall, YOU made the decision to make that cast. Luck would have been if it had just jumped in the boat as you were pulling up the ramp.

I think anytime you make a decision to fish an area, a bait, a color, a technique, etc...you are taking luck out of the equation. As i said, i believe luck is when something happens and you had absolutely nothing to do with it.

As far as catching bigger fish...too many variables there to discuss them all on here. As it's been said before though, moving slightly deeper, finding thicker cover, and throwing bigger baits works most of the time. I agree with Bob though...it's hard to leave biting fish.

[aikenyounggun]

well the first thing is you got to find the big fish...... you could find a place that had one big fish or you could find a place with 10 big fish..... you also have to fish for 5-7 bites, not just lets go catch fish.... it takes a lot of commitment to do that.... you also have to throw bigger baits or fish deeper, etc.....

also on the luck thing.... a one day tournament you could have the luck to catch a 6lber and win... but for a 3-4 day tourney you have to be on fish.... not just have luck

[CCbass]

Good point, I also think luck can be a big factor in one day tournements. A person is not very often lucky 3-4 days in a row.

[Tennessee]

last year I met a guy who won a large regional tourney and he had about 80 waypoints on his gps and would fish each one no longer than 10 mins at a time and move on, he continued this pattern all day and destroyed the leaderboard with 36lbs..7fish limit...I just thought it was interesting to have all those waypoints..I usually will have about 10-20 spots that I will concentrate on[/quote]



This sounds like power fishing and it really works if the season is right not cold water or heavy pressured water I truly think he would find it harder to fish that way

Later Will

[BassBandit]

Talking about a BIG fish. Some of you may have read it before. Well, it is long winded article but it worth the read!
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Bass that go ‘beep’

One angler’s research sheds light in the darkness that is big bass behavior

By Matt Williams - 02.Dec.2005

Every bassin’ buff has a theory on what makes big fish tick. But for John Hope, the proof is in the pudding.

Hope was a fishing guide at Houston County Lake in East Texas in the late 1980s and 1990s. He hauled in his share of lunker largemouths during that period and watched as many others were reeled in from the rear deck of his bass boat.

As Hope’s big-bass prowess became sharper, he became increasingly curious about their mysterious behavior patterns. The guide eventually became so obsessed with big bass that he began equipping them with electronic transmitters, so he could monitor their daily routines.

Between 1986 and 1994, Hope surgically implanted thumb-sized electronic transmitters inside 57 bass ranging in size from 6 pounds to more than 15 pounds.

A handful of the study fish where “ShareLunkers” – 13-pound-plus bass caught from Texas lakes and donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for use in its well-known spawning and genetics research program.

Using high-tech, radio-telemetry tracking gear, Hope monitored “beeping” fish in 15 different lakes ranging in size from 100 acres to 114,000 acres. He funded the studies entirely with money from his own pocket.

The transmitters cost him $150 each. He went through three sets of tracking gear, which cost $3,000 each.

Most of Hope’s research lakes were in Texas, but he also tracked fish at Truman Reservoir in Missouri. The ShareLunker candidates included a 15-pounder from Lake Fork, a 14-pounder from Lake Murvaul and a 13-pounder from Sam Rayburn. Hope also planted a transmitter inside a 13-pounder at Houston County and a 7-pound smallmouth at Lake Whitney. At the time, the bronzeback was the No. 2 fish on Texas’s top-50 list for that species.

Hope worked on the project with the diligence of a man on a mission. He once spent five-consecutive days and nights with his earphones on at Houston County, a 1,500-acre reservoir near Crockett, Texas.

The guide slept in the bottom of his boat in a sleeping bag, waking periodically to document the movements of his finny subjects. He came to shore once a day to eat and bathe.

Hope took his tracking study to the next level at Lake Amistad, a 60,000-acre lake on the Texas/Mexico border. He lived in a motel for a full year. Clad in scuba gear, he trailed along behind four different bass up to 11 pounds each day and night.

Hope has tracked big bass in temperatures as cold as 28 degrees, as hot as 110 degrees and in raging thunderstorms. He was serious about the game, indeed.


The objectives?

Hope wanted to learn as much as possible about trophy bass and make a name for himself in the fishing industry. His ultimate goal was to make money by sharing his findings and to attract more guide clients.

Most folks were intrigued by Hope’s study. Others felt threatened by it.

Hope said some Lake Fork fishing guides screamed so loud that TPWD created a fish-tracking permit and implemented a rule that made it illegal to have a guide license and a fish-tracking permit at the same time.

“The TPWD pulled my guide license because a group of fishing guides thought I had an unfair advantage,” Hope said.

For years, Hope wrote about his findings in a monthly column he wrote for a popular Texas magazine geared toward trophy bass fishing. The standing column was fittingly titled “Trackin’ Texas Trophies.” He also performed speaking engagements and worked closely with TPWD fisheries biologists more than once.

Hope’s tracking study eventually lead to a job as host of a television program dedicated to Texas fishing. The job consumed so much time that he couldn’t continue the project any longer.

But it really didn’t matter. By that time, Hope’s research had begun to repeat itself. He didn’t need a degree in fisheries biology to interpret the data.

“A big bass is a big bass, no matter where the lake is,” he said. “After a fish reaches 7 pounds, it does the same things and goes to the same places, everyday. It makes no difference if it’s 7 pounds or 18 pounds.”

I have fished with Hope on several occasions on a number of lakes. The trip I remember most took place at Houston County Lake on a moonlit August night in 1986.

We were spying on “Wanda,” the fish that started the program.

Wanda was a 10-pounder Hope caught in March of 1985. The guide documented the bass’s movements for three years.

Amazingly, Hope caught and released Wanda four additional times (twice during the spawn) during that period, and his son-in-law caught her once.

Sadly, the big bass was eventually caught and mounted by another angler. She tipped the scale at 12 pounds, 13 ounces at final weigh-in.

Hope learned a passel of lessons from Wanda. Interestingly, the findings were mirrored by every fish in the study that weighed 7 pounds or more.

One of the more valuable lessons is that big bass are home bodies. Hope said once a big bass establishes a home range, it maintains that range for life.

“Every big bass has a bedroom where it rests and a kitchen where it feeds,” Hope said. “And those places won’t be very far apart. I never had a fish move more than 400 yards from its bedroom when it went to feed. They don’t go roaming around all over the lake from one day to the next.”

Hope also learned that big bass feed predominantly at night, 12 months a year.

“Every fish over 7 pounds is a nocturnal feeder,” Hope said. “They may feed periodically during the day. But they do most of their feeding at night, usually in two-hour intervals. They feed for a while and then rest for a while.”

Wanda spent a high percentage of her “slack time” suspended over 20 feet of water along the edges of Little Elkhart Creek.

When the fish did go on the prowl – presumably feeding – she always headed for a nearby shoreline. The bass cruised up and down the same 100-yard stretch of bank repeatedly.

Hope said Wanda was so predictable he could set his watch by her movements.

“She would suspend in her bedroom most of the day, and then she would crank up 30 minutes before dark and feed all night long,” Hope said. “Thirty minutes after daylight, she went straight back to her bedroom. Every tracked bass over 7 pounds operated pretty much the same way.”

Each time Hope caught Wanda (outside of the spawn), she was actively cruising her kitchen. The bass refused to bite when she was in her bedroom, suspended over deep water. When it did come time to spawn, Wanda always dumped her eggs on the same flat, year after year.

Data collected on several tournament-caught bass on 114,000-acre Sam Rayburn Reservoir adds more clout to Hope’s home-body theory. It also firms up his belief that a bass is a bass, regardless of the size of the pond.

The Sam Rayburn fish – all 6- and 7-pounders – were caught north of the State Highway 147 Bridge and taken 18 miles south to Twin Dikes Marina for weigh-in. That’s where Hope planted the transmitters and released the fish.

Hope relocated his study fish a week later. Amazingly, all but one of them had made the 18-mile journey back home. They were positioned in the same areas where they were caught a week earlier.

Hope assumes the transmitter fouled on the lost bass, or that the fish was caught and kept by another angler.

Hope’s army of beeping bass also shed some valuable data linked to how fish relate to cover and structure in shallow, mid-range and deep water. Furthermore, they also helped him firm up his “funnel point” theory.

“For several years, I would mark an ‘X’ on the map when I would catch a big bass,” Hope explained. “At the time, the only common denominators I noticed between the spots were deepwater access, cover and structure.”

Hope was referencing the X-riddled map one day when he made an interesting discovery.

“It was like someone flipped on a light,” he said. “There was a narrow trail or ‘funnel’ leading to all the X’s. They looked like funnels – wide at one end, narrow on the other. These are the types of places big bass like to travel. Spend more time fishing defined funnel points, and you’ll catch more big bass.”

Hope put his theory to the test on a rainy afternoon at Houston County in February of 1987. He announced to a room full of outdoor writers, bait manufacturers and fishing guides that he could look at a lake map and mark 10 spots where trophy bass had been caught before.

Two of the guides were from Lake Murvaul; an East Texas big-bass lake Hope had never visited before. One of the guides produced a Murvaul map and Hope pulled out a Sharpie.

“After they all stopped snickering, I marked 10 spots, gave the map back to the guides and asked them to be honest,” Hope said. “Both of them admitted they had either caught big ones off the 10 spots, or knew of someone who had.”

Hope, eventually produced an 81-page book, “Trackin’ Texas Trophies.”

The paperback chronicles his years of research and summarizes valuable knowledge gained through countless hours spent monitoring big bass during all hours of the day and night, during all seasons of the year and in pleasant and foul weather conditions alike.